Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone who helped out with my donation drive.
I'm happy to report that I was able to round up the dollars and donated $60 to Internal Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission this morning. And $30 to Tahoe Bear League yesterday.

It was not a huge amount, but to me, a big success.  As someone who lives on a college adjunct instructor wage, which is from paycheck to paycheck and without pay during winter and summer break, I honestly couldn't have done it without your help. My usual personal donations are slated for animal rescue groups. Because I think dogs are simply the best thing in the world that I didn't want to take that budget away, so it was really wonderful that you could join me on making the donation happen for other worthy causes.
I sincerely thank you all and hope you have a fabulous week!

Personally I kinda lost interest in watching Olympics after snowboard half pipe event.  Then I got excited watching cross country the last few days.  I'm totally blown away at how amazingly fit these cross country skiers are. The long distance poling uphill just seem so insanely hard work. Such joy to watch people pushing themselves to the absolute limit.  I missed the closing ceremony last night 'cause I had to watch Downton Abbey.  Let me just say it was kind of a disappointing season finale.  Not the best season of DA in my opinion.

Perhaps!

Yay! a new pattern is here.
It's called Perhaps. I know, not a great name, but I'm really not good at coming up with names. Most of my paintings are called "Untitled".  How's that for creative names.

The pattern is now available via Ravelry.  It's a top-down sweater with cables along the sleeves and the pockets. Collar is knitted separately and sewn on to the body. And pleating on the back. 3/4 sleeves.

I'm actually wearing it now as I'm typing this. I knitted the sample using Classic Elite Portland Tweed. It's a rather rustic yarn. I like the yarn quite a bit, but I do wish it was in a different color. I may be just a tad too old for pink.  Oh well, it was what I had in stash, and I bought it like 3 years ago, when I was 3 years younger.

Other than this, not mush knitting or sewing news I can report. And I will not burden you with all the dramas at my work. Hopefully soon I'll have something new to talk about.

Surely, It's Golden

Our very own local Jamie Anderson won the gold medal at Olympics Women Snowboard Slopestyle!!.  A boarder from South Lake Tahoe!!

It was absolutely amazing watching her stomped down an incredible run. Congratulations! I don't know her, but if I do, I'd love knit her the slopestyle sweater :)  Funny, how the men's gold medalist's name is Sage (another absolutely jaw-dropping, incredible run to watch,) and I actually also have a pattern called Sage Blouse.  It's a free pattern, otherwise I'd add it to the donation drive list.

To celebrate our local girl's amazing achievement, on Feb 23, closing ceremony day, the donation of pattern sales of Slopestyle and First Snow will again go to Int'l Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commision. In the meantime, I'd like to add another donation, between Feb 10, and Feb 22, all sales of these 2 patterns will go to our local organization Bear League.

Bears are a problem, well, I should rephrase that and say human is a problem, here at Tahoe.  Every year we're encroaching more and more onto wildlife space by growing developments.  Bears get killed when they become comfortable around humans.  When people don't take care of their trash properly it creates a situation where bears become dependent. People then eliminate that danger by killing bears who get caught. As if that is not upsetting enough, Nevada legalized bear hunting 3 season ago.  So I'd like the donation to go locally for animals that cannot voice for themselves.

And today, I also have a new pattern available - Surely.
It's an asymmetrical design of cable pullover, now available via Ravelry.

Slopestyle and Sochi

Sochi, the place for 2014 Winter Olympics.  I want to begin my post with a painting by one of my favorite artists of all time, Arshile Gorky. The painting is called Garden of Sochi.  Although he used the name Gorky, he was really not related to Russian writer as he'd claimed. Gorky was actually Armenian, and he'd witnessed his mom died of starvation during the Armenian genocide. He later immigrated to US and began using the name Arshile Gorky. He was considered Abstract Expressionist, but visibly with the influence of surrealism. After working years in style of Cezanne and Picasso, he arrived at the place that seem so intensely personal to me.  He is one of the artists that took me a little while to come to really, really love his work.

I usually skip watching summer Olympics, but I love watching winter sports.
This year, I'm most excited about the new event Snowboard Slopestyle.  I can't get enough watching the amazing young talents doing their big air jumps and spins. Among many Olympians from this area, we have 3 locals for snowboard slopestyle, Jamie Anderson, women's slopestyle, a native from our very own town here at south shore of Tahoe! and Chaz Guldemond, men's slopestyle in snowboarding who now lives in Reno, and Karly Shorr from Truckee.

I'd tried the beginner terrain park at ski resorts a few times, but I quickly realized I was both too old and too much of a chicken to really hit it.  Once, on my third mini jump I landed on my face very hard.  Not only was it so painful, it was really embarrassing when these 5 or 6 year old skiiers skied by and asked me, "Are you OK?" as I sat there packing snow on my face. I enjoy watching halfpipe, but slopestyle is so much more fun to watch with the variety of the courses.  I'm totally in awe of these boarders. I cannot even imagine the kind of gut and the practice they do to get that much air and that much rotations. The most awesome thing to me is that they sure always look like they're having the time of their lives doing the tricks.

I really have respect for the Olympian athletes.  They don't just rest on talent, the practice, the mental training, the way they give 100%  into doing what they love, goes way beyond the few minutes of glory.

Unfortunately, the political stances of Russia and Sochi really put a damper on the fun and celebration of all these young athletes coming together to give their 100%.
I have a pattern called "Slopestyle", I'd like to take this opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the world we live in and embrace all.  We're all in it for a short time, why not enjoy each other's company?  I'll be donating 100% of my sales of both Slopestyle and First Snow Mittens to International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission on Feb 7th  (open ceremony day), Feb 8th (men's slopestyle), Feb 9th (women's slopestyle), and Feb 23rd (closing ceremony).  If you feel like making the contribution while getting a pattern out of it, there are many other designers doing it too. Here is a list of some of the designers on the blog of "Where the Red-winged Blackbird Flies."